Founded on June 29, 1960 by a group of committed, young theatre-persons, Nandikar has indeed come a long way. Today, as it celebrates 50 years of its existence, it is no longer just a performance-oriented theatre group, but an institution with a wide range of socially-oriented creative projects, including the education of underprivileged children through theatre and its popular annual National Theatre Festival. Its early productions were mainly adaptations of non-Indian plays, like Natyakarer Sandhane Chhati Charitra (Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author), Manjari Aamer Manjari (Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard), Jakhan Eka (Arnold Wesker’s Roots), Sher Afghan (Pirandello’s Henry IV) and Teen Poyshar Pala (Bertolt Brecht’s Threepenny Opera). It also performed Tagore’s Char Adhyaya. Having weathered its fair share of splits, failures and lapses during its journey, Nandikar began to chart newer courses under the guidance of Rudraprasad Sengupta, who emerged as its director after 1977. In the following decades, Nandikar produced as many as 80 plays that were performed all over the country and abroad at all major international, national and state theatre festivals. This evening, Nandikar stages its latest production, Madhabi, which highlights the eternal subjugation of womanhood at the altar of the desires of men. Drama: Bhisma Sahni. Adaptation, music and direction: Swatilekha Sengupta.

Event: Play in Bengali, Madhabi, produced by Nandikar on the occasion of its 50th anniversary When: Today at 6.30 pm (Anniversary programme at 6.10 pm) Where: Academy of Fine Arts